Purple Martins

[Geri]

I would like to find a Purple Martin House that I can raise up and down the pole. I have seen a pulley type pole in a magazine somewhere and would like to adapt the poles I have up already. Our Martins should have been home by now. This crazy weather has them confused I think. They usually show up around the 10th of Feb. It's always been a nice Birthday present!

 

[thcri]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( This crazy weather has them confused I think. They usually show up around the 10th of Feb. It's always been a nice Birthday present! )</font>


The crazy weather is probably what is holding them back. But like all birds they are pretty smart, they will come when they know the weather is right so it may be more crazy weather ahead yet.

murph

 

[Piedmont3]

These people make plastic and wood Puprle martin houses that have a rope and pulley that allows you to raise and lower the house each year for cleaning and closing for winter. My mom has one at her house that is about 20 or 25 years old. Still looks good and works great. Sorry I couldn't find a website for them. But they have a brochre that shows all their products. If you call them they would probably send you a brochure.
Mac Industries
(405) 631-8553
8125 S I 35 Service Rd
Oklahoma City, OK 73149

 

[BillG_in_TX]

<font color="red"> Sorry I couldn't find a website for them. </font>

MAC Industries web site.

 

[heehaw]

around here, walmart sells some plastic martin houses, that work pretty well, after the martins decide to use them: i had 8 houses around my pond, 2 wooden, 4 metal and 2 plastic: i have gotten rid of the wooden houses, it took 2 years before the martins would build in the plastic houses, they filled the metal houses very quickly: 2 of the metal houses are on pulleys like your wanting: they really work well, the plastic houses take a special triangular pole, that slides up and down easily..and the house has a lifetime warranty?? not sure against what?? but not the pole..
the houses sell for about $30-40..
heehaw

 

[billbill1]

Trio Grandpa is what my Purple Martin houses are called and they go up and down the pole on a rope. The ones we own have railings around the porches to keep the babies from falling off, wife really likes that feature. There is also a version called Trio Grandma. They have 6 houses on each side of the pole, made of aluminum, and the interior of each house is polished ( a feature that starlings can't live in) Hope this helps.

 

[EddieWalker]

I was thinking about getting a Martin house last year, but never made up my mind on what I wanted until I got caught up on some other projects. It just never happened.

I did get power run into my place and the lines run over the corner of my pond.

Sometime over the summer I realized that I had dozens and dozens of them hanging out on the wires. Towards the end of the day, they would drink from the pond while flying. Really neat to watch.

Now I'm wondering where they nest. Do they travel far from their nesting sites to the pond and feeding grounds?

I really enjoy watching them and from what I've read, they are really good at eating misquitos, so I want to keep them around. Should I put up houses, or is it better not to mess with something that's already working?

Eddie

 

[kenmac]

Got my martin house & pole at wal mart, put it up 2 yrs. ago & still no martins. I don't think they like al. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

[heehaw]

thats exactly why all of my martin houses are around the pond: the show up early every year: has anyone had any problems with crows eating the eggs/babies right out of the box?? i did, went a couple years without raising a single baby martin, till i finally put some 2"X4" welded wire across the fronts to keep the crows back far enough they can't reach inside and feast.
heehaw

 

[billbill1]

Eddie, put the houses where you can watch the birds, about 50' away from trees and the power lines. We really enjoy having them around, they don't mess on your vehicles or around your home. Smear mud on the bottom 1/3 of the entrance holes when you put up one of the houses, that will help attract them. We have 3 houses on the front lawn and get birds every year. They arrive in early April in Kansas and stay until late July or early August. I'm not much of a bird watcher but the wife and I really enjoy purple martins.

 

[Piedmont3]

Thanks BillG, I knew they had a website, but when I googled it I got all kinds of other junk but not them.
Thanks again.

 

[Geri]

Thanks for the website. I'll check it out. I still haven't seen any birds yet. It concerns me that they are so late. In the past we have turned out about 30-40 birds at the end of the season. We have two metal two tier houses. One oblong and one kinda hexagon shape with railings. We don't have crows but, I swear the roadrunners here are **** on other baby birds! The Martins have been known to chase the roadrunners!

 

[lonesome]

What is involved with getting the Purple Martins to setup house keeping? I have lots of mosquitos, so it just a matter of putting a house on top of a pole or is it a more involved process? What time of year to you need to have the house up?

 

[Geri]

I'm not sure what time of the year your Martins show up.Our Martin scouts just showed up yesterday. The rest usually follow within a week. There are lots of web sites. just google purple Martin and you can find the conservation website among others. They need a broad fly zone so, set up your pole far away from any trees. Also, it will help keep predators away from your pole so, the birds aren't sitting ducks. We have had good success with two tier metal houses with railings. Haven't tried gourds or other material. These are easy to clean. My husband is trying a new technique of opening only a few holes on the house until the Martins establish because the sparrowa LOVE to try to settle in as well.
He used to take the house down and pull out sparrow nest a few times before enough Martins got in the boxes. You should have a water source near by. We have a neighbor with a pond so, they go there I assume.

 

[billbill1]

The martins arrive in NE Kansas around the first of April, my guess for Iowa would be 2-4 weeks later. The birds migrate from South America every year so the farther north you are, the later they arrive. There isn't anywhere in North America that you can't get martins. They resemble the barn swallow in flight and are around the size of a robin. They use mud to build their nest and are very neat and tidy birds. The scouts arrive around two weeks before the rest of the birds and locate a place to live. They do like overhead wires that are within eyesight of their house.

 

[Geri]

I forgot to pass on MacMartinhouses.com is a pretty neat site. I really like their houses as I would be able to raise and lower them myself if needed.